The Mask
by Her Blood Sings
Summary: Chap. 2 Is Up! Ginny returns to Diagon Alley, but ventures there too willingly. When a certain masked man starts following her, Ginny starts to run and try and get away from him, but what she doesn't know is that she won't ever be able to get away.
1. Hooded, Cloaked, and a Pipe Smoker

The Mask

Rating: PG-13  
**Ships: **D/G  
**Summary: **Ginny returns to Diagon Alley, but ventures there too willingly. When a certain masked man starts following her, Ginny starts to run and try and get away from him, but what she doesn't know is that she won't ever be able to get away from him.  
**Disclaimer: **All belongs to J.K. Rowling, except for the plot and any unfamiliar characters.  
**Author's Notes: **PG-13 for later chapters. All Diagon Alley/Knockturn Alley places resourced from "hp lexicon".  
**Spoilers: **Order of the Phoenix

****

Chapter I: Hooded, Cloaked, and a Pipe Smoker  
The loud ringing of laughter and talk filled the air of Diagon Alley. Smiles could be seen from every corner of the eye. Rejoicing from the news that Lord Voldemort was gone, once and for all, witches and wizards of all ages danced in the streets. Even people were purchasing gifts for others out of happiness that the Dark Lord was dead. The owls were screeching from all the noise, but in a friendly way and all the animals in the shops were doing the same.

Joy was everywhere, yes indeed. And a certain scarlet-haired lady was feeling it as well in her heart, but her mind remained lost. She was deep in thought about things while trying to focus in not bumping into anyone down the crowded street.

She smiled to herself as she let go of the thoughts and peered at the wonderful displays in the bright, shop windows. One shop in particular reminded her of her fantastic quidditch years back when she was a seeker still in school. The young woman stared up at the golden sign that bore the name "Quality Quidditch Supplies". A new broom was featured on display: THE MIDNIGHT SWEEPER. Being of course the fastest model yet, it was wrapped in a coat of black with smooth, olive-colored twigs on the end. It was very magnificent indeed that it made the young woman wish that she was still a part of the quidditch team.

Soaring through the air; the wind hitting your face, making your cheeks chill and numb. Your robes whipping behind you as you raced on your broom. Being a seeker though means facing opponents. One opponent in particular _always_ gave her a hard time. Taunting her and trying to get her off course as she tried to keep her eye on the snitch. His green robes a camouflage against the green grass on the quidditch pitch, but his silver-blond hair a stand out feature to the eye.

In the woman's fifth year, she had fallen in love with a guy a year older than herself, but at least in the same house as her. But in her sixth year, she had believed that she had fallen in love with her worst enemy. In a velvet diary that she sneaked from her parents for she was not allowed one, on almost every page she had written:

I do not love him. I do not love him.  
I do not love him. I do not love him.  
I do not love him. I do not love him.  
I do not love him. I do not love him.

Over and over again she'd write these words as an aching feeling irrupted in the pit of her stomach. Eventually, she never spoke to him. She was too afraid, her being a Weasley and all. Him being a Malfoy.

He still believed that she liked Harry Potter, but she had given up on him a long time ago. She wanted someone to love that didn't stand out as much to the knowing. But stood out to the ordinary.

The young woman decided to make for The Leaky Cauldron to grab a drink. As she reached the entrance doors, an elderly woman was sitting on top of a wooden cart, smiling happily and playing a lute, while singing:

The Dark Lord has gone.  
The Dark Lord is dead.  
We no more have a reason to be tread.  
We will return to tomorrow.  
We will wake again.  
We will wake to the morning sun.  
For the Dark Lord is dead.

She pitched a galleon into the woman's already half filled hat laying at her feet. That proved how much the people of the wizarding world were so glad to be free from all things dark and scary. Before she could even reach for the door handle, the woman softly grabbed her arm and said, "Be happy, child. This is the day that will rule history forever." She just nodded in a half smile and then the elder lady let go of her and grinned. Then continued playing a merrily tune with her lute. The red-haired woman strode into the pub. It was pretty full. People were laughing here and there. Others cheering with drinks. There was an empty seat at the bar counter, so she made her way over to there. As she sat down, she stripped off her dark ruby jacket and instantly a foaming drink in a medium-sized mug was placed in front of her.

The young woman looked up and found a skinny, dirty blond-haired man smiling back at her. Tom was no longer the inn keeper at the Leaky Cauldron. His son, Theodore had taken over instead to make his father happy that even though he was retiring from the place, it wouldn't be left in a stranger's hands to Tom.

She smiled back at him. "Thanks, Ted," she spoke and lifted the mug in a cheer to him.

"Anything for you, Miss Weasley." And to the sound of that name "Weasley", a certain stranger's ear pricked and its mind suddenly came back to the attention of its surroundings.

She sipped the foamy drink. The moment it touched her lips, she felt the stress of everything that was trapped in her mind wash away, until she spotted something in the far corner of the pub to her left. A figure cloaked in black, smoking a black pipe was, as she thought, staring back at her. She couldn't really tell for his hood shielded his face except for his mouth where smoke fluttered out every few moments.

Theodore came back. He was curious at what the woman was staring at and then she finally asked, "Who is that?" And she looked up at Theodore.

"I don't really know. He wouldn't tell me his name. He just asked for a drink and to be left alone and so that is what I have been doing. He was the first in here since seven o' clock this morning and yet here he is still. Hasn't moved since and never asked for another drink. But I swear he hasn't put that pipe down ever since he lit it up."

"…Odd," she muttered. 

"I know. I took a glance at his pipe. It bore a silver dragon along the stem of it with its eyes painted red."

She glanced over at the cloaked figure once more and noticed that he was still staring their way.

"I know what that look means when you decide to use it." Theodore spoke, suddenly.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't talk to him." Theodore said firmly.

"Ted!" she whispered loudly.

"Don't."

"I won't."

"Good! You've been in deep situations where you've just suddenly talked to a stranger and then you can't get your mind off them forever. It's like it haunts you. So don't you even dare…" Theodore reminded the young Weasley and set back to work at cleaning the lower countertops behind and a little below the main bar top.

She looked at him one more time and then stood up from her stool to leave. She slipped on her jacket and reached into a pocket to take out a galleon for Ted. It was instantly pushed away. "It's on the house, hon. Don't bother. I've got enough customers to keep the business running good for today."

"Thanks, Ted," she sweetly spoke and took off out of the pub in an instant. And in another instant, the hooded man stood as well.

The woman noticed that the elder lady with the lute was gone now. She must have been singing since early dawn, the young Weasley guessed. She decided to roam the main street of Diagon Alley again and look at all of the beautiful displays in the windows and listen to all the cheery talk and laughter.

She passed Quality Quidditch Supplies once again and Eeylops Owl Emporium. As she approached Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, she noticed that many happy faces were packed in and outside of it. Madam Malkin's Robes and Flourish and Blott's was packed as well. In fact, all of Diagon Alley was packed with bustling witches and wizards.

She strode a little more down the alley way…and wished she didn't. An eerie rush of wind suddenly hit her and her hair whipped around her face a little. She turned to her left and noticed a black gate fixed between two tall buildings. Two, long boards were magically stuck to it and they read:

KNOCKTURN ALLEY ∙ CLOSED ENTRANCE ∙ TURN BACK NOW

Someone had done graffiti to the words on the boards though and instead of it saying KNOCKTURN ALLEY, it now read FORBIDDEN ALLEY. A voice suddenly shot into her mind: _Go_.

No! The young woman tried to fight it.

'Enter what is forbidden to those good and perfectly fine to those not afraid…'

"I will not!" Ginny mumbled between clenched teeth. But her feet had done the complete opposite. And before she knew it, she was standing in front of the iron bars of the once dark, now deserted alley, or so she thought. Suddenly her mouth muttered, "dragon scale". And to her surprise, the boards vanished and the black painted gate opened. The woman looked back at the crowd, but no one seemed to notice that it had. Her feet picked up again and lead her into the empty street. She heard a clang and the bar gates had shut behind her.

She was a little afraid, knowing that could not go back now, but yet she was fine. She started down the dark path and noticed a few shop signs hung above pitch black doors. There was a shop sign covered in cobwebs named "Giant Spiders". Another sign that looked like it had been burnt had the name "Poisonous Candles" on it. No one was to be found amongst the alley. It was completely deserted. At least, where she was at the moment.

Suddenly, she heard the shuffle of feet behind her and she quickly whipped around to find that no one was there. She stared over her shoulder for sometime and then proceeded down the street once again. The air was thick and the breeze was cool against her rosy cheeks. Then, her ear pricked and a cold voice came with these exact words:

"One should not wander so carelessly in a forbidden alleyway, Miss Ginevra."


	2. The Scars To Remember

The Mask

Rating: PG-13  
**Ships: **D/G  
**Summary: **Ginny returns to Diagon Alley, but ventures there too willingly. When a certain masked man starts following her, Ginny starts to run and try and get away from him, but what she doesn't know is that she won't ever be able to get away from him.  
**Disclaimer: **All belongs to J.K. Rowling, except for the plot and any unfamiliar characters.  
**Author's Notes: **PG-13 for later chapters. All Diagon Alley places resourced from "hp lexicon". I'm now debating whether this is gonna turn "R" in further chapters. Maybe, maybe not. It depends. Probably not though...who's knows! LOL.  
**Spoilers: **Order of the Phoenix, Chamber of Secrets

****

Chapter II: The Scars To Remember**  
**Ginny whipped around. Still, no one was there, until she spotted a piece of fabric swaying in a shadowy corner next to a building called "Borgin and Burkes".

"Who's there?" she asked, all too quick and terrified. That was the actual thing that she did not want to do: sound afraid.

"You thought you could escape my grasp, my beautiful rose," the voice came again. It sounded familiar, but Ginny just couldn't make out whom it belonged to.

"Come out of that shadow, stranger…" Ginny whispered, trying to sound brave.

"Certainly, my dear." Suddenly, the figure stepped out of the dark corner and Ginny was not prepared for whom the stranger was. He stared at Ginny and studied her body. Immediately, a cold smirk drew upon his face.

"You're still pretty. Ha, I still remember that stiff expression, too. Always trying to keep our love secret from the world. You never realized though, that our love was never secret, my lovely swan." The stranger was walking around her as he spoke these words, as she stood in aggravation of remembrance of the relationship between this dark person and herself. Oh, she knew who he was all right, now. But her body was still filled with fright. "Do you still keep that diary, Ginevra? Do you spill out those filthy lies and regrets into them still? Do you keep writing those same words about that same person you knew, but you know you have not forgotten?" Ginny glanced at the man.

"What are you talking about?" She said firmly.

"Oh, my dear, sweet Ginevra. You know exactly what I am talking about." And to that, he reached up and placed a cold palm upon Ginny's rosy cheek. She weakened at the touch of this. She could not help it. Though her mind kept telling her to stand up, her body kept telling her to fall into the arms of this poisoned creature. "You like that don't you, Ginevra? You like the touch of a cold-blooded heartbreaker…because you can't help the fact of feel. You still love me, Ginevra. You still want me. I know you do. Just by this one touch I can tell."

Suddenly, Ginny snapped back to reality, realizing what she was giving into. "Keep away from me, you filthy animal!" And to that, the man suddenly took tight grip onto Ginny's wrists and held back her arms against a brick wall. "Get off me, you sick freak!"

"It's what you get, my sweet Ginevra for entering a place forbidden to those good!" he shouted. Ginny tried kicking him, but he was so strong that Ginny could not even move. He had his body pressed into her, so that she was completely locked between the wall and him.

"I said get off!" she screamed. But before she could get any louder, the man suddenly placed his lips onto hers to silence her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth; biting her lower lip until it bled. Ginny yelped. The stranger was just about to go for Ginny's neck when…

"Zabini!" Ginny gasped at the sound of another voice and they both turned towards Ginny's right. A black-cloaked figure stood at the end of the alleyway near the gate. Ginny thought it was another stranger, but the closer he came, the more she came to realize that it was the person from The Leaky Cauldron.

The tight grip on Ginny's wrists had suddenly loosened, but he still kept a firm hold on them. Pulling her with him, he stepped into clearer view of the alleyway. "Well, well, if it isn't Slytherin's favorite bad boy. Don't think your mummy would want you wandering in a place like this."

"You know my mother's dead, Zabini. Now let her go." The stranger spoke.

"Give me one perfect reason why I should. She's _my_ girlfriend after all."

"Is that so, Zabini?"

"She belongs to me, buddy. So go get your own to smut."

"I'm not here to smut anyone, _friend_."

"Then leave us be." Zabini spoke firmly. The stranger just shook his head.

"Blaise. My good friend, Blaise." He took him by the shoulders and Ginny slipped free from his grasp, but didn't move after that. "You know. You don't need a girl just to be happy."

"Yeah?…"

"You need a soul!" And to that, the hooded man pushed Zabini into a wall and drew his wand, rushing over to Ginny to cover her. Blaise stood still for a moment. His hand upon the brick wall and his other hand pressed down on a bleeding gash seeping through his hair.

"So…going from anti-muggle lover to muggle hugger, buddy?"

"Get, Zabini!" he spoke. Blaise didn't move nor did he. For a moment, Ginny thought the cold silence would never break, until…

"Watch your back, Malfoy. Or at least, what's left of it…" Finally, Blaise strode off down the dark alleyway and out of sight, still clutching the bleeding gash on his head that had hit the wall. The hooded man still did not move.

"Malfoy?" Was all Ginny could say. She whispered this so quietly, but the stranger turned to his left anyway. The wand is his right hand lowered. Ginny observed this cloaked figure. He was so tall that she barely came to his chin. And then she saw it: the black pipe with the dragon wrapped around it. She gasped. "It's you! The man from the pub!"

"…And from your past." Ginny gave him a quizzical look. In the brief moment, the man lifted his pale, slender hands and removed the black hood shading his face. But the only problem was, she still could not see his face. Instead, it was being hidden by a white mask. It was a little dirt stained, but still very ghostly white. "Come here."

Suddenly, he took Ginny's hand and led her to a wooden door painted black. Then he spoke, "If you think the alley is deserted now…wait 'til you come inside here." The door was instantly pushed open after a hard nudge and soon Ginny could hear loud voices ringing in her ears and the building they had entered was packed now with witches and wizards, dressed in dark clothing. A few of their pets, ravens and black and gray cats were running about or sticking by their owner. The light in the room seemed almost orangish from huge black chandeliers hanging above big round oak tables in which could place half a dozen customers. A bit of smoke filled the air from those who were lighting up their pipes. None of them seemed or had the expression of an ill personality. In fact, they seemed pretty okay though none really seemed to notice that the two had suddenly walked into the room. Malfoy spoke up again as he clung to Ginny's small wrist with his giant palm. She was actually surprised by herself that she wasn't trying to pull away from his grip. He didn't attempt removing the mask though, which puzzled Ginny.

"Oi! Bors! Could we have the room?" He gestured to a fat man behind the bar to their left wearing a very dirty apron. He seemed almost bald, but still had a few hairs to hide his sleek scalp.

"Go right on in." Bors smiled an almost toothless grin as he wiped off some dirty dishes with a clean towel, to Ginny's astonishment. She was also surprised that Bors didn't look at all curious about the mask upon Malfoy's face.

Ginny was suddenly and quickly led by Malfoy as they passed the bar and a few tables packed with cloaked wizards that still took no notice of them and through another black door into a dark room. Ginny was a little hesitant about it all, but for some strange reason, she felt a little comfortable and relaxed by the sudden darkness. From what she could make out, hollow candle lit skulls rested in the middle of maroon colored tables. A little bar was placed to their left just like in the main pub room and the masked man led her to it. He seated himself on a tall stool and invited Ginny to sit next to him in the other.

She hesitated at doing this too, but in the end, she had placed herself right next to him. They faced each other and the masked man smirked.

"Where have you been all of these years, my sweet opponent?" He sighed.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Ginny stuttered.

"Stop the lies and shit, Miss Weasley. I can see right through you. You're afraid."

"Exactly what I am afraid of, Mr. _Malfoy_?"

"What's behind this mask. And…what's behind you." He spoke almost too wisely that it bothered Ginny a little. This was not the person she knew back in her day… She whipped around though, wondering what he meant by "behind". And it's like he read her mind, quickly. "I mean, what's behind your skin, Miss Ginevra."

"What do you want from me, stranger?" Ginny knew exactly who it was. She knew. But even though he had saved her from Zabini, he was still a cold, heartless Slytherin to her.

"Say my name, Ginny."

"Why should I?"

"I said yours… What? Are you too afraid? Is my name that poisoning?"

"Yes." Ginny spoke, shortly. Malfoy sighed.

"What's been holding you back, Ginny?" Ginny rubbed her eye and sighed herself.

"What do you mean what's been holding me back? I want to know what's been holding you back from taking off that mask." She nodded toward it. Malfoy just stared hard and long at her.

"…Because, Miss Weasley. There are some things in the world that do not need to be shown to it. What's behind this mask, is one of them…" He spoke these words long and slowly. The bartender noticed them finally as if he was waiting for them to cease in their conversation.

"Anything for the two of you?" He asked, casually.

Ginny was just about to open her mouth when… "No thanks, Will." Malfoy smiled from the bartender to Ginny. She just glared at him. After Will had left them alone, Malfoy added, "You don't need a drink, Miss Ginevra, you just had one in the pub back at The Leaky Cauldron."

This bugged Ginny a bit. Not because he had dismissed her from a perfectly fine drink, but that he made himself purposely sound smart after saying those words like Ginny was a little child of some sort.

"Never call me, Ginevra, _Malfoy_."

"Then never call me Malfoy, _Weasley_."

"Will you please stop acting so immature for once? God, you're what…23 as it is?"

"Your point, Miss Weasley?" Ginny stared at him. She shot up from her seat instantly, but Malfoy had pulled her back down in a flash.

"Let me go," she gritted between her teeth.

"No. I have to talk to you."

"Why the hell would you have to talk to me?" Ginny stood up again, but he pulled her back down all the same.

"Because! …Because…" Ginny waited for an answer.

"I'm not very patient right now, Mr. Malfoy so make up your mind: do you _want_ me to leave…or go?"

Malfoy sighed. He stood up, grabbed Ginny's small wrist and pulled her up from her seat and away from the bar to a midnight blue door in a corner across the other side of the room. Leading her out of the room and onto a balcony lit by more hollow skull candles placed on the stone floor, Malfoy leaned onto the iron rails with his elbows and looked out at the bright, full moon shining down on lovely green hills that Ginny would have never guessed to be there. She suddenly realized that they were a good eight feet up off the ground and it was completely dark now. But like it was a trance, luring her over to where Malfoy was, she strode softly and cautiously over to him and leaned on the rails so that they were elbow to elbow. He turned and stared, puzzled at the confused expression on her face and sighed again. "Ginny, how did you get through that gate?"

Ginny quickly looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out but a short, "uh." Malfoy waited patiently. His eyebrows kind of pushed up as if he was expecting her to spill it all out.

"It's complicated…" she finally spoke. He still waited. Ginny looked out over the balcony. No one could be seen below. And nothing could be heard but the soft wind and their own steady breaths. She sighed. "Riddle…he still haunts me…Draco. He haunts my dreams, still darkening them all too quickly and chains me to them before I even have the slightest chance to wake up. He told me to say "Dragon Scale" and…it opened…just like that." Ginny looked down at her small fingers and started twiddling with her thumbs, licking her lower lip where Blaise had bit it until it bled, as she waited for a response from Draco.

"Well…thanks for saying my name, finally." Ginny couldn't help it as a small giggle escaped from her mouth. Draco couldn't help but do the same, as well. "But so…you're saying he's dead, but not exactly."

"Well, not in my head at least," Ginny muttered. She inhaled a deep breath like she was struggling for air.

"That diary was destroyed though, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, but that just meant he couldn't live through his younger self. It doesn't mean that he couldn't live through one's mind -- his prisoner's mind…" Ginny continued twiddling with her thumbs. There was a silence between the two adults as they listened to something howl in the distance. It instantly reminded them of Professor Lupin.

Then, Ginny looked up at Draco. "Why do you wear that?…" she asked, gesturing towards his mask.

"I already told you, Miss Weasley. There are some things in the world that do not need to be shown to it and whatever is behind the mask is one of them."

"Draco, just please, take off the mask. I won't laugh…whatever it is. I swear on Merlin's powers, I will not." Draco looked at her. And suddenly his eyes became softer to Ginny. And then he exhaled a deep, unsure breath. "…I said your name didn't I? …Draco?"

"I-I just can't, Ginny."

"Why not?" she whispered.

"…If you want to see what's behind this mask, you have to understand one thing…I deserved what is behind it. Though, the other side of me is saying I didn't…I did. But I'm not taking it off. If you want to know what's behind this mask, then you have to take it off yourself. I'm forewarning you, though…" But Ginny put her fingertips to his lips and hushed him, like Draco suddenly went from an evil monster to a fluffy, cute animal and she wasn't afraid of him anymore. Like she wasn't afraid to touch his skin.

Then, she slipped her fingers from his mouth, to his cheek, to the side of head and slipped the tips into his mask and slowly pulled it away. She never closed her eyes as she did this, but Draco did because he was afraid. Ginny could even feel him shaking as she removed the last bit of the mask.

Draco expected her to wince, scream, or run. Just something…but she never did. He opened his eyes in wonder of the strange silence. But Ginny was just staring at his eyes, waiting for them to open. Then, she lifted the mask, made sure Draco could see it in her small, pale hands and suddenly, she threw it over the balcony and Draco watched in shock as it fell away into the darkness from his sight. "No!" he shouted. "I need that mask!"

"No, you don't," Ginny spoke, softly. Draco still leaned over the balcony, looking desperately for the mask like it was suddenly going to fly up to where they were standing.

"Look at me, Draco," Ginny said. She turned his face towards hers with her left hand and studied his face hard. She was a little stunned at what lay upon his face, but she showed no sign of fear towards it. She didn't want to make him feel ashamed. Ginny tilted his face down as she reached up and ran her soft fingers over bumpy, scars on the left side of his face. They were a deep red and she noticed that they had cut into his eye so the veins on the left side of it stood out clearly.

Then, Draco saw it. But this actually surprised him a little for Ginny's eyes had started to swell with tears. Never had he received sympathy from anyone who saw his scarred face, though no one really ever did. "Who did this to you?" she stuttered, sadly.

"Who do you figure?" Draco sneered, not to Ginny, but to whom she was asking about.

"Draco, I'm so sorry--"

"--Don't be. I don't need sympathy over something that cannot heal. My father had his last whip before I killed him. Shot him right down. I didn't even bother to use the killing curse. I just stabbed him 'til he bled…and got what he deserved."

"But why do you say that you deserved those scars on your face?"

"…For all the cruel things I've done to one's soul and heart: enemy, friend, or girlfriend." He licked his cracked lips at this point. But Ginny knew he didn't lick them because they were dry. She knew what was running through his mind at the moment besides fury from Ginny throwing the mask over the edge of the balcony.

"Draco…" she breathed, leaning in a little closer to him. "…I don't think you need that mask to hide what you cannot."

"Ginny, you have scars too, I'm sure--"

"--I'm not talking about that…"

It felt so nerve-racking to Ginny suddenly as she found herself looking deep into Draco's eyes and their lips finally met. Tears started gracefully spilling down her cold cheeks, one by one as she reached up and brushed her knuckles over his scars once more.

"Ginny, I'm so sorry…" Draco apologized into her lips.

"Draco," she said, parting away from his lips and leaning onto his shoulder as she whispered into his left ear, "There are some things in the world that do not need to be said to it and apologizing to me is one of them…"

-----------

Ginny and Draco stayed on the balcony for what seemed like hours, sharing kisses back and forth. They replayed their last couple of years back at Hogwarts together, to each other, and to their minds and told of what they had been doing since then.

"I don't think you ever deserved, Zabini, the way he treated you," Draco opinionated, as he wiped away the last of Ginny's tears from when they first kissed. Ginny smiled. Draco had fallen in love with this smile ever since he had first found her again. Ginny kissed him once again, sweetly, but more firmly this time. Suddenly, she parted her lips just enough for Draco to get a little more access, but then something swept across her mind and she immediately pulled back.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, worriedly. Ginny held her forehead in her palm and her stomach with the other.

"That was weird…I suddenly felt light-headed and my stomach gave a tight pull."

"Are you okay?" Draco put up his hand to touch her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Ah!" Ginny screamed the moment Draco touched her.

"Ginny, what?--"

"Wait, Draco. Touch me again. Touch my cheek…something." Draco did what she told him to and touched her on the cheek once more, but this time, nothing happened.

"Wow, that was really strange…" Ginny muttered.

"Yeah…Ginny are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…Draco, maybe we should get going."

"Okay, maybe you're right." Ginny sighed as the dizziness in her head finally left and she stood up. Draco handed Ginny her jacket and slipped his own cloak on. He was just about to reach for his mask, when he realized that he didn't have possession of it anymore. Ginny giggled. "Thanks, Ginny. Now how am I supposed to leave this balcony?"

"Don't worry about it. Just walk like nothing's happening," Ginny assured and they left the balcony porch and entered the dark room once again. Hardly anyone was there now. A few tables were occupied, but with only about two or three witches or wizards overall. No one took notice of them and as they opened the door to the main room of the pub, hardly anyone was there either. "What time is it?" Ginny whispered to Draco. He looked at the black grandfather clock in one of the corners and claimed that it was two o' clock in the morning. Ginny was stunned at this, but walked across the room towards the door they had entered the pub through all the same.

As they stepped outside, it was deserted as usual, but the air seemed chillier than before. Draco must have felt the same way because suddenly he pulled out his wand and stepped in front of Ginny, sort of shielding her like he had done when he was protecting her from Zabini. "If no one's in the pub, then where do you think they all are now?" Ginny asked Draco.

But before he could say anything, a fist suddenly whammed into his stomach and he was roughly thrown to the dirt ground. Ginny saw his wand slip out of his hand and she instantly rushed for it. But as she went to grab for it, a foot stomped onto her small hand hard. She screamed and cradled it. A wand was immediately placed at her neck and the tip of it titled her chin up.

"Hello, Miss Weasley." Ginny did not need to be told who it was. He had bulky shoulders and a pudding bowl haircut. "Get up!" He commanded. A thick pair of hands grabbed her arms and held them back, pulling her up from the ground.

"Hello, my darling." It was Montague, a Slytherin chaser whilst Ginny was still in her fourth and fifth year. He placed his palm on her cheek just like Blaise Zabini had done and held her face close to his mouth and he kissed her on the cheek in a smutty, evil way. Ginny whimpered. She couldn't help it. She was too afraid to even care to hold it back. She didn't even try breaking free. She knew it wouldn't work and even if it did, there would be no possible way to escape. Many cloaked, but not hooded figures were surrounding them now.

Ginny tried her hardest to get at least one glance at Draco. He was coughing and gasping for air as he held the side of his ribs. Some of the clocked figures started stomping on him or spitting at him, trying to weaken him from getting up and trying to defend himself …or Ginny. Suddenly, one of them muttered, "Crucio!" and Draco fell to his face on the dirt ground.

"Gentlemen! Gentlemen, show some sympathy for the weak…" Ginny turned to her left as Montague still trapped her in his arms. She noticed that a woman had now entered the huddle around Draco. She had long, silky, black hair like a crow's feathers and small dark pupils. She had a feathery plate in her hair that stuck out like black sun rays and she wore a tight, black corset dress that touched the ground and had sleeves that draped low when she folded her hands together. Ginny recognized this poisonous stranger at once. It was Pansy Parkinson and right along side of her was Blaise Zabini, who's forehead where it had bled now remained black from the dry blood from what Ginny could tell by the streetlights glowing the street. "Why, hello, Draco. Long time no see… And how sweet, you brought along your little girlfriend, too. Just as we had planned, right sweetie?…" She grimaced, crouching down to stare Draco in the eyes as he squirmed to fight off the curse.

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The part where Blaise is harassing Ginny and Draco comes along to save the day was an inspiration from a fiction called 'Hello, Stranger' which is actually posted on this site. : ) Read it! It's reallyyy good!

kittybro: You've commanded and you've received, LOL. : )

claudia: Make me! :P Hehe. Hope you liked!

shoret: Thank you very much! I'm so squee to hear that my work is appreciated. Happy readings! : )

Anaid: Now you know… LOL.

Laina3: Thank you! I'm glad it was interesting! I love keeping them that way (interesting).

DDStalker: Glad you like! I've updated! : )


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